“Ok, the meeting is closed. Give this one your full and immediate attention.”
KAMOV RETURNED TO HIS office via the refectory, he got two coffees to go and a bar of Belgian chocolate. He walked in. “Hi, Cleo. I got you this.” He put down a coffee and the chocolate.
“Thanks Admiral,” she grinned, “that’s great.”
He smiled and walked into his inner office and sat. Above his desk was a large photograph of his last command, the Arleigh Burke class Destroyer USS Decatur. The Chiefs had given him all he could realistically ask for in ROE terms. He hadn’t asked, yet, for what he really wanted. The PLAN was out in force, probably and he’d one boat out there in their way. He needed more but he knew that politically they couldn’t give him what he wanted. He’d move ships and boats from Everett, Kitsap and San Diego to Pearl. Some more from the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. But he wanted ships and boats forward deployed. Positioning as many as he could in Pearl and Guam would help. But as to a mass deployment? Politically, it was a no deal situation. He knew more was needed as far forward as possible, right in the thick of it would be ideal. How can it be done?
He sat for a while and thought. Then it came to him. He chewed it over and dismissed it. What else? His first real idea had a habit of coming back at him, it just wouldn’t go away, and then at last it won. Yes. It’s not ideal, but maybe it was possible. Kamov smiled, it was time to call a few old friends.
NATHAN HAD RETIRED to his cabin for some much-needed sack time, he’d quickly drifted off to sleep. He was awoken by a knock on the door.
Still groggy he called out, “Yes come in.” Lt Commander Lemineux opened the door.
“Sir, this just came in from Pearl.” He passed over a comms slip and left.
PRIORITY RED
R 221345Z OCT 91 ZY10
COMSUBPAC PEARL HARBOR HAWAII//N1//
TO STONEWALL JACKSON
PACFLT// ID S072RQ81//
NAVAL OPS/03
MSGID/PACOPS 6722/COMSUBPAC ACTUAL//
MSG BEGINS://
UPDATE TO CURRENT ROE. WEAPONS FREE IF WEAPON USED AGAINST YOU.
IF SITUATION THREATENING AND YOU BELIEVE ENEMY IS PREPARING FOR IMMINENT WEAPON USE. USE BEST JUDGEMENT.
STATUS: CURRENT IMMEDIATELY.
MSG END://
He smirked and went back to sleep.
SEVERAL HOURS LATER he emerged from his cabin.
“All well XO?”
“Yes sir, no contacts out there, we’re on the northeast leg around 40 miles off the northwest tip. We’re at periscope depth, four knots, batteries near full charge now.”
“Weaps, how are the boat’s teeth?”
Weaps grinned. “All good, I have the weapons Chief running diagnostics on the Harpoons. Found a minor issue with one, we changed the circuit board, we’re downloading a software upgrade from Boeing for the old card and then it’s a good spare. They’ve also been tweaking Vulture’s Stare, I’ve been customising my workstation controls, it’s better now.” Nathan nodded, Weaps was in his element, playing with his toy guns.
They say little boys don’t grow up, their toys just get more expensive, well that was Weaps alright.
“XO, I got this a few hours ago.” He handed over the communication slip. Larry Sayers read it. “That’s clear sir,” he smiled, “it tells us everything and it tells us fuck all.”
“I know Nicolaj Kamov. He wanted to say, sink on suspicion, but he couldn’t. It puts the ball in our court, that’s OK he couldn’t say anything else. We’re as free as we can be, General Cotton’s not stupid, he let Kamov do all he could.”
Minutes went by. Nathan watched his monitor at his conn.
“Sir, we have a full battery charge now.”
“Thanks, retract the snorkel.”
“Snorkel now secure sir.”
Nathan strode to the centre point of the room and stood legs parted.
“Vent forward and aft, trim for diving. Forward one third. Planesman, down bubble ten, make your depth 350 feet.” The deck tilted down to forward. The boat slinked her way down into the dark depths making her way to the northeast. Nathan now felt more secure heading away from the surface. Up there with her mast raised she was more vulnerable, exposed.
He’d listened to the briefings from naval intel. The opposition had respected her, after hearing about her exploits, respect had become fear.
Down here she was where she was intended to be, doing what she was built for. A dark quiet heartless fish designed to seek out and destroy her nation’s foes.
Benson turned to his Commander “Sir, I have a possible contact.” He turned back to his sonar screen. Nathan looked over his shoulder.
“There sir.” He pointed to a vertical trace on the screen.
“It looks like someone spilt oily paint on the monitor. He knew it told Benson lots about the world of sound out there, to him it looked like an abstract painting had melted in the sun.
“It’s faint yet sir, I can’t be sure.” Nathan had learned to respect his sonar man, the “Virginia Visionary” as they called him.
“Go on Chief, what do you think?”
“I’ve been listening to it, for some time now. I think it just made an aspect change.” He rested his hand on Benson’s chair and looked at the dripping mystery of the sonar screen.
“Best Virginia guess?”
“I think it’s a Song class, conventional attack boat. He’s got to be thirty miles or so away and heading south.” Nathan knew to take Benson’s guesses seriously.
“Weaps, designate contact as Tango one. What’s the Song class look like?” Weaps looked up the Chinese Song class in the idiot’s guide to Rim Pac forces.
“Diesel-Electric, single shaft, 22 knots, 900 feet depth, medium and low frequency sonar around the bow. Six tubes, Yu-6 wire guided torpedoes, anti-ship and cruise missiles.
In 2006, a Chinese Song class submarine surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected. It was within 5 nautical miles of the carrier USS Kitty Hawk while she was operating in the East China Sea off Japan and Taiwan. Cheeky sons of bitches.”
Nathan knew this could be a forward probe.
“Left rudder, come to 270 degrees, we’ll run a ten mile long west-east track from here. Keep Lucy’s ear out there. See what you make of it Benson, good work.”
It took Benson just over an hour.
“Sir, I can confirm Tango one is a PLAN Song class boat. Prop spin count and hull wash sounds indicate type, the library confirms Song class 91 %. The library’s a pussy sir, she never gives 100 %. Song’s made two aspect changes, it looked like he was trying to detect anybody ahead of him. They were both 60 degree port and starboard turns. I think it’s likely that his sonar lobes are more sensitive in those areas. He’s averaging 14 knots due south southeast from his datum, depth two fifty feet. I have a good track. He’s approx. fifteen miles north of us.”
“Planesman. Left rudder face south, all stop. We’ll let him pass us by.”
TWO HOURS LATER LT Cmd Lemineux handed Nathan a comms slip. “Just in sir.”
PRIORITY RED
R 221345Z OCT 92 ZY10
COMSUBPAC PEARL HARBOR HAWAII//N1//
TO STONEWALL JACKSON
PACFLT// ID S072RQ81//
NAVAL OPS/03
MSGID/PACOPS 6722/COMSUBPAC ACTUAL//
MSG BEGINS://
THIS WAS RELAYED TO YOU FROM YUANSHAN ROC MILITARY COMMAND CENTRE IN TAIPEI.
LARGE PLAN NAVAL TASK FORCE OFF TAIZHOU, HEADING SOUTH SOUTHWEST. TEN KNOTS. AIR ACTIVITY ABOVE AND FORWARD OF FORCE. BEIJING STATES IT’S ON EXERCISE. ROC UNITS NOW ON READINESS STATE 3. HOLD FAST YOUR AIM, BY SUN AND STAR.